


What's Your Deal?

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coffee Shops, F/F, Nerd Peridot (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-18 05:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7301593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot really wants her new roommate to like her.</p><p>Or: I write a month's worth of college-based Lapidot to celebrate my new OTP.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Look..." You sigh and turn to the girl that's been assigned your roommate for the year, who looks less than pleased about it, "I know you don't like me for whatever reason. But since we're stuck here together, why don't you just try and be tolerable of me?" 

The girl just offers you a dead stare, so you don't know if she's looking at you or looking past you. You glance behind you to see if there's anything of interest there but there's nothing except the blank cream wall. Your side of the room is still pristine. 

"Fine." The girl folds her arms across her chest and retreats to her side of the room. Gingerly, she sits on the edge of the bed and bounces once to check how if how comfortable the mattress is. Apparently, she deems it acceptable because she swings her legs onto the bed too and lies there, staring up at the ceiling. You wonder exactly what her deal is. 

"What's your deal?" You ask, never one to mince your words, "How do I make you like me?" 

The girl glances back at you, looks you up and down once, and scoffs. She blows her bangs back out of her face so that curls fall back on her pillow before returning to staring up at the ceiling. You don't know what she's looking at. You can't see anything. You stand closer to her and look up to check if there's anything in her line of sight that you missed. There's nothing. Your roommate is staring at entirely empty ceiling. 

And she still hasn't answered your question. 

"Anyway, I'm Peridot." You tell her, standing over her now and peering down at her. She could be pretty, you guess, with her dark curly hair and her shirt that cuts off above her stomach. But the look in her eyes is that of somebody who has faced a war. 

"Lapis Lazuli." The girl's eyes drift to you and this time, she's definitely staring at you, "My friends call me Lapis. But you aren't my friend, you're my roommate. So, you can just call me Lapis Lazuli." 

"Understood, Lazuli." You nod, "And you can call me Peri, if you want to." 

That's what Amethyst, your best friend, calls you and it always sounds so cool rolling off her tongue. There again, nicknames just seem to come very easily to her. She has five or six each for everybody that she knows. It infuriates her girlfriend, who- like Lazuli seems to be- is very much "call me by the name or call me nothing at all". 

"I'll call you Peridot." Lazuli says.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, it's the Peridork!" Amethyst bursts into your dorm early in the morning, waving something in the air, "You are never going to guess who's going to be drumming for Steven's band at the Beachapalooza this year!" 

She kicks the door so hard that it swings open and slams against the wall. You wince and your roommate grumbles and pulls her covers over her head. It's midday and she's still asleep, since her class doesn't start till four. Or so she claims. 

Amethyst's eyes widen and her voice drops to a stage-whisper. " _Dude_. The roommate." 

Ever since you told her about your roommate and her interesting attitude, Amethyst has been coming over to your room all week in hopes of meeting her. Unfortunately, Lapis has been missing from the room all week, only appearing late at night and vanishing before you've woken up. Yesterday, Amethyst sighed and collapsed onto your bed and admitted she had just about given up on ever meeting her. 

Now, she's almost hyperventilating. 

"Dude. Peridude." Amethyst gestures to Lapis hiding under her covers, "Your roommate is actually here. You weren't lying about her." Now, she addresses Lapis, "Yo, Lazuli, it's nice to meet you. I'm Amethyst." 

"It's too early for this." Lapis mutters, pushing the covers off and sliding out of bed. She's dressed only in a loose tank top and a pair of shorts that end a while before her knees, her hair ruffled around her face. Sleepily, she slopes towards the door of the dorm and grabs her towel and change of clothes from her dresser. She pushes past Amethyst in the doorway and your best friend grins up at her. Lazuli brushes her off with a blank look and walks away. 

"So, _that's_ your roommate?" Amethyst leans against the doorway and crosses her arms, "Man, I get what you mean. There is something up with that girl."

"She doesn't like me." You mutter defeated. 

"I don't think Lazuli likes anyone." Amethyst says, "I think I've seen her in Starbucks before and she's always sat on her own." 

"She drinks coffee?" You add that to your mental log, "That's very intriguing. I didn't have her pegged as somebody who would drink coffee." 

"No, she drinks water." Amethyst frowns, "P. hates her for it." She puts on her best Pearl imitation, _"Why on earth would anybody enjoy a simple water at a coffee shop? Clearly, that's not what the shop was built for. It completely compromises the integrity of the establishment."_

You laugh. Amethyst and her finicky girlfriend work the same shift at a coffee shop downtown- that's how they met several years ago- and they always seem to have some amusing anecdote. The pair of them are like a comedy duo.

"At least you think it's funny. Pearl just scowled at me." Amethyst flops onto your bed, "Now, stop studying so we can go crazy out on the town!" 

You, still laughing, put your work aside and get to your feet. "Tell me about Beachapalooza."


	3. Chapter 3

Your roommate insists on keeping the windows wide open whenever she's in here but she's out, so you've shut both of them tightly. It's not like anybody is going to break in- you're on the eighth floor of the dorm, for gods sake- but the evenings here are cold. You can't concentrate when you're cold. You get to work on your laptop. 

You're known nefariously around the dorm floor for being ridiculously over-prepared and organised for all your classes and it's only been a couple of weeks since college started. You stick to all the rules. It's true that you like to be ready. But only because being plunged into the unknown terrifies you. 

Honestly, you were worried that you'd be even lonelier here than you were at home but you met Amethyst at the orientation. Originally, you'd been kinda prejudiced towards her but she snapped you out of that pretty fast. Once you got over your differences, you became pretty good friends. Amethyst might be trouble but she's fun. Since school started, the two of you have been pretty good friends. 

"The windows are closed." Lazuli comments and you nearly jump out of your skin; you hadn't even noticed that she was standing there, her shadow falling over you, "You know I don't feel comfortable with the windows closed." 

And she opens them again, (unlike you, she doesn't have to stand on the dresser to reach). 

"I meant to ask about that. What's your deal?" You raise an eyebrow at her. 

Lazuli looks as if she's considering her answer, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "My ex-girlfriend liked to keep the windows shut. It made me feel as if I was suffocating. I'd like to keep the windows open and if you don't like it, you can leave." 

"Maybe I will leave. I don't like sitting in here in the cold." You say, though you're not sure why you're arguing. For the sake of it perhaps. "Can't we just come to a compromise? I don't see why you get to be in control of everything around here." 

Lazuli's eyes widen. "I like to be in control." 

You spend the night camped out on the floor of Amethyst's dorm room.


	4. Chapter 4

When you're hiding out in the library, waiting for your study group to start, you spot your roommate between the stacks of books. It's just a swish of blue and messy hair but you sit up and pay attention instantly. She's cut the neck off her sweater and cut it short so you can see her back. You frown at her. You wish she wasn't so distracting. 

"Hey, Lazuli!" You call. 

From across the room, a huffy librarian shushes you in annoyance. 

"Sorry." You mutter but Lazuli obviously didn't hear you anyway. She's lingering by a bookcase, her head tilted back as she looks up at the selection of titles. Leaping to your feet, you rush over to her and stand beside her, hopefully. A scowl spreads across her face. Maybe she did hear you and she's just ignoring you. 

"You need help?" You ask. 

"Do you work here?" She demands, her voice tired. 

"Well, uh, no, but-"

"I don't want your help." Lazuli stalks away from you, her arms locked together and her shoulders hunched. You still have no idea what you did to make her hate you so much. You sneak up to her and tap her on the shoulder. She doesn't turn. 

"Lazuli, I just want to be friends. Why can't we be friends?" 

"Because I don't like you."

"Why?" 

"You're just like everybody back home." She's out the door, "You stare at me like I'm some kind of freak." 

She drops the door and it slams shut behind her, nearly smacking you in the face. You take a step back and your eyes follow her as she walks away, turning the corner. 

You're left standing there, staring after her, lost. 

"I don't think you're a freak."


	5. Chapter 5

"Long story short, if she didn't hate me before, she definitely does now." You finish up the story about how you accidentally used Lapis's shampoo this morning and she actually tried to kill you. At least you smell like sea salt now. You didn't realise that Lapis was the reason your room smelt faintly of the ocean. 

"Dude, what is this girl's deal?" Amethyst is lying across her girlfriend's lap, much to the annoyance of said girlfriend, "Why does it even matter what shampoo you use? It all does the same thing." 

"Not all of us enjoying lying in our own filth." You say, eyeing the thick dark curls trailing on the ground.

"Peri, I saw you after that three day gaming binge." Amethyst points so hard that she nearly takes your eye out, "I saw you. You had a Dorito instead of a glasses lens. That was the day that I truly started to respect you."

You roll your eyes and return to carefully filing your classwork inside your ring-binder, wondering whether it would be better to go alphabetically or in order of importance. You're still pondering this when a shadow falls over you and you realise that Lapis has entered the room.

She takes a good hard look at you, sat on the floor and surrounded by sheets of paper; Pearl, trying her best to sit neatly cross-legged on Lapis's bed; and Amethyst, who is lounging around like she owns the place. Her shoes are caked in filth and resting on Lazuli's pillow. 

"Get out." Lazuli tells her. 

"Nahh... I don't think I want to?" Amethyst stretches herself out. 

"Amethyst." Pearl says, shaking her arm, "I think we should leave. We have to respect Lapis's privacy." She looks to Lapis for approval, "Would that make you happy?"

"It would make me happy if you left and never came back." Lapis crosses her arms. 

"That's uncalled for." Pearl says, sharply. 

Lapis stares at her hard. Nobody moves a muscle. 

"At least sit on _her_ side of the room." Lapis gestures to you.


	6. Chapter 6

"I just want her to like me." You say, for the hundredth time. 

Sapphire is hiding a smile behind her hand. "Peridot, has it ever occurred to you that you might be more than a little obsessed with your roommate?"

"Yeah, do you have a crush on her or something?" laughs the far less subtle Ruby.

The three of you are sitting in the local Starbucks, waiting for the rest of your study group to show up, and you figured you'd ask their advice. After all, like you and Lazuli, they're very different but they get along just fine. Of course, they're completely in love and you don't feel that way about Lazuli (right?) but they gotta have some words of advice? You thought you might as well ask. 

Ruby is rocking on her chair. "I can't believe you're in love with Lapis. After all those times you called us "disgusting"."

You turn bright red. "I didn't know any better. I apologised." 

"It's okay. You seem to understand a little better now." Sapphire shrugs her shoulders so gently that if you'd blinked, you'd have missed it, "Anyway, you requested some advice? I'd advise that you talk to Lapis Lazuli and see if you have anything in common. That's always a good way to bond with somebody." 

"Ugh, I tried that." You roll your eyes, "She won't talk to me." 

"In that case..." Sapphire leans forward, glancing around with her good eye before speaking even quieter than usual, "I know a little about Lapis Lazuli. We went to the same high school. She always felt trapped. I think that was due to her girlfriend being a little... Controlling of her. They broke up shortly before prom night. I understand that Lapis broke it off." 

"Yeah." Ruby adds, helpfully, "Lazuli's had a pretty bad time. But things are different now. She's far from home, she has nobody here... I bet she's lonely." 

"You just said you guys were friends. Why don't you talk to her?" You nod to Sapphire. 

"Well, I knew _of_ her." Sapphire looks a little embarrassed, "Nearly everybody knew Lapis Lazuli but nobody really spoke to her. She always said she'd rather be alone. I think if I spoke to her now, she would shun me still." 

"Why don't you get her a present?" Ruby suggests, "Everybody likes presents!"

"Yeah... That's a great idea!"


End file.
